The Collegian
Friday, March 29, 2024

Live blog: Richmond hosts Maine on Family Weekend

<p>Justin Rubin awaits an interception during the second quarter as the few poncho-covered fans look on. Richmond has been in control for the majority of the game. </p>

Justin Rubin awaits an interception during the second quarter as the few poncho-covered fans look on. Richmond has been in control for the majority of the game. 

Final: Richmond beats Maine 48-17 behind 484 yards of total offense. 311 of those yards came from Lauletta's arm despite the wind and rain throughout the day. Stay tuned for the full story of the game tomorrow morning. 

Q4, 1:55 -- Not much worth talking about. Maine has the ball and is moving the ball, but the clock is running too. 

Q4, 4:52 -- Micah Keels gives Richmond the ball by breaking on a pass and intercepting it from Collins. Richmond has a golden opportunity here to run the clock out and give everyone an excuse to go inside, dry off and get warm. 

Q4, 5:20 -- Maine is moving the ball, gaining what looks like about five yards a play and running the clock down, which everyone at Robins Stadium is probably thankful for.

Q4, 10:20 -- Kevin Johnson comes in at quarterback for the first time this season. His only pass falls incomplete on a third down, forcing Richmond to punt. 

Q4, 10:45 -- Maine goes three-and-out again. The Spiders would be wise to run the ball more this time around--no need to run the score up. 

Q4, 11:58 -- Forgot to mention, Spiders now lead 48-17. Richmond's defense full of second-string players now. 

Q4, 11:58 -- Richmond REALLY isn't taking its foot off the pedal. Lauletta goes deep AGAIN to Brown for a 29-yard touchdown. Lauletta now has 311 yards and 4 touchdowns. Brown has 205 yards and two touchdowns, and Diggs has 96 yards and two touchdowns. Is this the CAA's version of Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison??

Q4, 12:52 -- Maine tries to fake the punt and pick up three yards for a first down, but it doesn't work. Richmond has another short field to work with and less than 13 minutes left till the celebration commences. 

Q4, 14:01 -- The Spiders won't take their foot off the pedal. Lauletta waits in the pocket then finds Diggs 20 yards downfield, who shakes a tackle and dives into the endzone for his second touchdown of the day. Richmond leads comfortably, 41-17. 

Q4, 14:48 -- Maine opens the quarter with three incomplete passes, then the punter kneels to catch the punt and is called down before he can kick it. Richmond will have the ball at Maine's 25-yard line. 

End of third quarter: Richmond leads Maine 34-17 behind 408 yards of offense, 221 of which came from Diggs and Brown through the air. Brown has 176 yards of total offense and a touchdown, and Lauletta has 259 passing yards and three total touchdowns. Richmond's offense has been the story of the day, with the rain and wind having no effect on the Spiders. 

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Q3, :37 -- Jeffrey DeVaughn is down for Maine after returning a kick and getting hit hard by a Richmond player. He walks off under his own power, though. 

Q3, 1:18 -- Correction, they overturned Lauletta's touchdown, but he ran it in two plays later on a QB sneak anyway. Spiders now lead :44 in a heavy sideways downpour here at Robins Stadium. 

Q3, 1:54 -- Lauletta has built a strong rapport with both of his main receivers, Diggs and Brown. He hits Diggs on another back-shoulder throw for 16 yards to the Maine 5-yard line. On the next play, Lauletta does it himself, fighting through a tackle and extending the ball into the endzone. This offense isn't quite as explosive as last year's under Mike Strauss, but it's equally as effective right now. 

Q3, 3:20 -- Richmond's offense is doing exactly what it wants right now--running short plays, staying in bounds and taking time off the clock. Except that last play, where Lauletta went deep to Brown again for 27 yards.

Q3, 4:52 -- Collins is a new man. He drops back and throws a laser 32 yards downfield to Wright. On the next play, Sacoy Malone goes four yards for a touchdown and Maine now trails 27-17. Maine just covered 85 yard in under three minutes, so can't count them out yet. They can work fast with that no-huddle. 

Q3, 6:55 -- Just when I was about to make a comment about Collins' struggles today, he finds Jared Osumah for a long first-down catch along the sideline. 

Q3, 7:19 -- Fisher finds the endzone on short run up the middle to widen the gap for Richmond. Spiders now lead 27-10 after an 11-play, 82-yard, 6-minute drive. 

Q3, 8:25 -- Brown catches a double-reverse toss from Caleb Drake and takes it 28 yards to the two-yard line. Nick Ritcher laid a nasty block on a Maine defensive lineman, drawing a reaction from the crowd. 

Q3, 9:50 -- Lauletta rolls out after a tricky play-action fake and finds Brown again, who falls to his knee to make the 16-yard first-down catch. This third quarter is moving much faster than either of the first two. 

Q3, 11:40 -- On 3rd and 7, Brown runs a deep slant and gets open for 20 yards and a first down. He's having a strong day after his two weeks of rest helped with a back injury he had been dealing with. 

Q3, 13:30 -- Maine starts the second half with a three-and-out, giving the ball back to Richmond early. The rain seems to have subsided for now, but the trees are still blowing all over the place, a sign of how windy it is down on the field. 

Halftime: Richmond leads Maine 20-10. It's hard to tell who is in control, because there's not much drive-to-drive consistency on either end in this game. Richmond's had some success in both the running and passing game, while Maine has been running well but passing poorly. The second half should be interesting. 

Q2, :30 -- Velardo walks off under his own power, and Maine appears to be running the clock down to end the half. 

Q2, :46 -- Nick Velardo is injured for Richmond, and it appears to be his leg. Updates will come as they are available. 

Q2, 1:20 -- The next two plays don't go as smoothly, and Spiders now have 3rd and 14 to deal with. Diggs drops the pass on that play and Richmond has to punt back to Maine. Can it just be halftime already?

Q2, 2:30 -- Richmond goes with a throwback screen pass to mislead Maine's defense and earn 23 yards. Spiders in two-minute drill mode. 

Q2, 2:44 -- After driving down the field with a consistent run game, Maine stalls out at Richmond 13-yard line. The Black Bears make a field goal though, narrowing the gap to 20-10. 

Q2, 5:10 -- Trevor Jones fights through a hold by a Maine lineman and makes a tackle for a five-yard loss anyway. On the next play, Jones makes the stop again. He's flying all over the place around the outside of the box. 

Q2, 7:00 -- Richmond can't capitalize on the interception and is forced to kick a field goal in the now-heavier downpour. Yoder makes it though, as he usually does, extending the lead to 13 for UR. 

Q2, 8:33 -- Collins is having a bad day throwing the ball in the rain and wind. He lets a horrible pass go and it lands in Richmond's Justin Rubin's hands, who returns the interception to Maine's 16-yard line. 

Q2, 9:25 -- The Spiders get caught in a long third down and goal and are forced to pass, but there's no room and a pass to Brown is knocked down. Peter Yoder makes the drive somewhat worth it by making a 29-yard field goal to extend Richmond's lead, which is now 17-7. 

Q2, 10:30 -- The running game is working now for the Spiders. Green, Lauletta, Seth Fisher and even TJ Moon are all involved now. Spiders in the redzone. 

Q2, 13:20 -- Lauletta shows off some shiftiness on a sweep-option run and picks up seven yards. Two plays later, Diggs catches a screen pass and shows off his own moves to shake off a defender and earn a first down. 

Q2, 14:00 -- Diggs opens the second quarter with a beautiful 21-yard catch despite great defense. Credit Lauletta with a solid back-shoulder throw, too. 

End of first quarter: Richmond leads Maine 14-7 thanks to two early deep strikes from Kyle Lauletta. Since then, though, Maine's offense has had much more success than Richmond's. Let's see who finds more success in the rain in the second quarter. 

Q1, :43 -- Maine is trying to play the short game today, but this time it didn't work. The Spiders break up a short third-down pass attempt and catch the ensuing punt at their own 30-yard line. 

Q1, 2:40 -- The Spiders can't get anything going now. They face a 3rd and 10 already after two runs for no gain. Then Brown drops a potential first down catch. Spiders will have to punt. 

Q1, 4:45 -- Richmond goes with a designed quarterback run and Lauletta is tackled four yard in the backfield for a loss. Two plays later, he drops the snap and tries to throw to Diggs in double coverage, but that doesn't work. Maine runs into the punter, though, giving Richmond a free five yards and a first down. 

Q1, 5:08 -- Dan Collins threads the needle for a short touchdown pass to Micah Wright on a slant route. That drive lasted 16 plays, 81 yards and about seven minutes. 

Q1, 6:10 -- The Black Bears have put together a long drive to keep Richmond's offense off the field. They face a 3rd and goal from the three-yard line. 

Q1, 8:22 -- Maine goes deep on first down from Richmond's 35 but Jarriel Jordan breaks up the pass. On 3rd and 7, Nigel Beckford runs left and shimmies through holes for a first down. 

Q1, 9:40 -- Another first down for Maine, which is now at midfield. Richmond's defense is allowing too many yards on first down, giving Maine easy second and third downs. 

Q1, 10:50 -- Maine picks up a first down on a short pass to a wide-open Jeremy Salmon. The Black Bears are in hurry-up mode here and it seems to be working. 

Q1, 12:07 -- On Richmond's first play of the drive, Lauletta makes a few moves in the pocket and throws a perfect bomb to Brian Brown, who beats the defenders deep for a 75-yard touchdown. Richmond has now run five plays for 150 yards and two touchdowns. 

Q1, 12:31 -- After two unsuccessful plays for the Black Bears, they go deep on a pass that is almost intercepted by David Herlocker. No big deal for Richmond though, because Maine punts to about the same place the interception would have been caught. 

Q1, 13:20 -- Two plays later, Kyle Lauletta rolls left and finds Reggie Diggs wide open on a corner route for a 27-yard touchdown. Two plays covered 75 yards for Richmond, who now leads 7-0. 

Q1, 14:10 -- On the second play from scrimmage, Jacobi Green bounces left off tackle, breaks a defender's ankles and goes 48 yards to Maine's 27-yard line. 

Richmond will receive the opening kickoff with the stands far from full. 

Hello everyone, I'm Charlie Broaddus and I'll be keeping you guys updated during today's game between Richmond and Maine. The rain is falling here in Richmond, so the expectation for attendance is a huge question mark right now. Also, suspicion arouse after backup quarterback David Broadus did not come out for warmups, and we now know that he is suspended indefinitely for violating team rules. Stay tuned for updates about the game, as we are less than 10 minutes from kickoff. 

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